I know you won't reply to this anymore, but I think the quote hits the nail on the head.bhall II wrote:The point here is not to absolve anyone of anything, only to say that what happened wasn't so far out of line that it should be considered unreasonable.
Sometimes --- happens.
I think during any incident, it's important to consider the "intent" of the action in question. Do we want to see a driver, who already pretty much lost the position, force a collision in a desperate attempt to regain an advantage? Is that the ethos of racing?
I would think not. Yes, cars have been squeezed countless times on corner exit because on corner exit, the car on the inside, especially when ever so slightly ahead, is in a position that is considered to be favorable. The physics and the commitment to that corner will usually always mean that that driver is somewhat of a by passenger. Committed. The trajectory, the velocity, the steering angle and the radius of the corner will lead to the car being pulled to the outside of the corner, hence why the gap closes for the car on the outside. If that driver were to lift, he would risk weight shifting to the front and losing the rear. Depending on his position, he might not even see where the car on the outside is. Hence, being on the inside of a corner at corner exit is always favorable, unless circumstances are different, e.g. there is a large speed difference between the two, a driver made a mistake or something.
This however was corner entry. Hamilton had gained a favorable position by being slightly ahead. He did not see Rosberg (by being that bit ahead). Rosberg did not even attempt to steer into the corner, so his intent was slightly ambitious, the goal to force Hamilton wide, off track. It looked clumsy and very intentional of what he was trying there. He risked a collision. Had Hamilton been actually side by side, it would have worked, but due to Hamilton being that bit ahead, he couldn't even see him.
It's a similar situation in Barcelona. I respect the fact that he had the balls to defend his position at any cost, but when you have an issue (Barcelona wrong engine mode), I don't expect one to defend this aggressively or with the clear intent to completely push someone off the track in dangerous maneuver. Equally, I don't expect a driver who's already lost the advantage going into a corner to try and attempt to regain it using a "dirty move". If he's in a better position to actually "close the door" on someone on corner exit, fair enough. But not like this.
Beyond this, there never should have been race between these two. Hamilton was 8 seconds ahead when they pitted Rosberg early. His advantage he had driven out, was to make a 1-stop work. The team changed that strategy and eliminated that advantage for whatever reason which put them in contention for the same position. If anyone deserved this collision, Mercedes did.
I think the FIA penalty of 10 seconds is amusing. If it was given during the race without knowing what the outcome is and what gap the car would have, fair enough, but post-race and fully aware that the 10-second would yield ZERO impact doesn't sound like a punishment for me. I can't help but think, if this collision had taken place by two drivers of different teams, the FIA would have imposed a different penalty...
, deliberate off track pushing. Where is Hamilton going?? Call the press, Charlie Whiting and police, completely unacceptable.
We need a bit of randomness in a race, it's the equivalent of a sprinkling of rain.